United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Yeah, Bridget I didn't mention before but swimming post mod quad was way better for Jameson too.
I know all kids are different...Everyone has to decide for themselves...for us it was a good decision.

I am guessing that movements that had helped Ian

Sorry - somehow posted before I even started!:) By my post earlier, I was trying to only use swimming as an example of the movements that Britt now can do - verses the movements that she might not be able to do if she had the mod quad. My point was about the movements - not swimming. Each child because they are injured differently might have some movement in some areas and not as much in other areas. I was concerned that Britt might lose those strong movements that she needs to do certain things from day to day. Since she has the movements to do some of the complex strokes such as breast stroke, elementary backstroke, and so on - lots of movements for her arm involved in each - would she lose these types of movements and the answer was that she might. For example: In order to do the breast stroke she needs the movements of putting her arms out in front of her, pull the water back with her forearm, and pushing her arms forward. How she uses her arm when she swims, I feel covers many complex movements that she has and it was a visual way I could ask the Dr about certain arm movements other than the obvious - - how high up can she now get, how far to the side, can she touch her chin, can she reach her back, - -since real movements in everyday life are also very complicated and not just about how high she can reach her arm up. While showing the doctor these movements she could do now he was not certain that she would still be able to do the same movements later - but she would be able to reach higher.... It's not about swimming, but about those movements she is now capable of doing that might be lost. I just recommend that when talking to a surgeon to be extremely specific about every single movement you can think of that they can do now and weigh it against what could be lost or gained with that surgery. Christy

Hi Christy,

I understand your explanation. Like you, my feeling is that swimming itself was/is not the issue, but range of motion and overall ability to use/move the arm. In Ian's particular case he improved in all movement areas, and lost absolutely nothing. We can see this in action when he swims, etc., but also in everyday movements and also in the increased use of his arm in general.

That was something that nearly everyone familiar with Ian was able to notice right away, how the surgery seemed to "free" his arm and enable him to use it actively much more often. It seemed to create better balance? I think that Ian was intended to be left hand dominant (his left arm is injured) and this may also be affecting what we see, he may be more motivated to use his left arm as that is his natural tendency...so when given a bit more freedom of range he took full advantage of it. I guess it is a little thing to be thankful for in our situation.

This has been our experience, I know that every injury is different, and results of surgery can be different for every child as well. Perhaps different surgeons have different techniques that result in different outcomes?? Who knows.

Anyway, we all do our best with the information we have and make decisions based on what is best for our families...I fully respect that! It is good to have different experiences and outcomes shared so that the parents making these decisions now can have real-life results and input. Then they can make the decision that best suits their belief system and situation. No matter what it is not simple or easy, I think we can all agree on that!!

Bridget

Forgot to say, Christy has a great suggestion about asking your doctor for information regarding each and every specific movement/function you have concerns about. In fact, you can ask your therapist for a full evaluation (they probably did this when you first met them?) and take these measurments with you to meet with the doctor...go over each one and ask for their opinion of gain or loss as a result of surgery. This way you have the technical terminology and the actual measurements to back you up. Hard to remember all the stuff (at least for me!) when you are on the spot in the doctor's office. Another idea might be to get more than one surgical opinion and compare the results.

Bridget

Thanks so much to all who replied. I fully appreciate and respect all the information and experiences that were shared. And Bridget, we are getting a second opinion, which I feel good about, but also a little leery in case they end up being different. More confusion is the last thing I need. Christy, thanks for opening my mind to some really good questions. Thanks guys!

Hello All,
My name is Myra and my son had the mod quad surgeory and he has a really good therapist where we live now. The problem is we are moving to Cleveland,Ohio in a month or so and I am wondering if anyone knows of a good therapist there that is familiar with this procedure and has worked with patients post-surgeory. If anyone has any info at all please contact me here or at my email address spanygirl_98@yahoo.com. thank you.

Hi Myra
You may want to make your own post so you can get the most responses. Just a thought. Elisa